Screen Cultures
Screen Cultures was a research and education initiative at the Faculty of Humanities for the period 2019-2023.
Completed
Screen Cultures brought together researchers from across the humanities to study how our screens shape our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
Departments
Screen Cultures was a collaboration between the following departments at the Faculty of Humanities:
- Department of Media and Communication
- Department of Philosophy, Classics, History of Art and Ideas
- Department of Culture, Religion, Asian and Middle Eastern Studies
- Department of Linguistics and Scandinavian Studies
- Department of Literature, Area Studies and European Languages
- Department of Musicology
Research
We are drawn towards television and cinema screens, we chance upon digital signage advertising, we carry around smartphones and laptops, and we wear smartwatches and VR technology on our bodies. We constantly look at screens, touch, tap, tilt, swipe and caress them.
The interdisciplinary research and education initiative "Screen Cultures" investigated the implications of our love of screens for society and our lives.
- How do the distinct qualities of screens, and the specific interactions they invite, influence our understanding of the world?
- How does our understanding of the world affect our use of screens?
Objective and vision
The aim of "Screen Cultures" was to challenge the routine ways in which we make sense of screens. The initiative reached across various disciplines and was based on the concept of ‘teaching-driven research’, fostering close connections between students and staff in both teaching and research.
The initiative aimed to
- produce fresh knowledge on our ubiquitous screens and the ways in which we make them work
- bring together the various perspectives on screens by researchers from different departments under the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Oslo, and beyond
- develop new ways of involving students in ongoing research
Studies
The international Master’s programme "Screen Cultures" was closely connected with the research at Screen Cultures.
The research and education initiative focused on four research topics that are represented by the four main course units of the Master’s programme.